George Clooney's "The Ides of March," a story of backroom betrayals during a critical moment in a fictional presidential race, kicked off the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, and the early critical appraisals -- positive but a bit reserved -- are trickling in.

Clooney directed the film and also stars as Gov. Mike Morris, a hardcore liberal’s dream candidate; Morris’ campaign is run by Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), with Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) Zara’s most talented — and unreservedly idealistic — aide. Two seemingly innocent Myers encounters — between him and a campaign intern (Evan Rachel Wood) and an adviser to Morris’ rival — set off a chain reaction that threatens to take down the candidate.

The film won't hit U.S. theaters until Oct. 7 (when the L.A. Times review will appear), but here are a few early assessments:

Deborah Young in the Hollywood Reporter says, "poised between politics and thriller, this morality tale from Clooney & Co. is illuminated by a terrific ensemble cast." She adds that "its dingy Midwestern setting" and "structural lack of heroics" is likely to "keep the popular vote down" on the film. But she says “Ides” can "bank on tense pacing and a superb cast, led by a ruthlessly idealistic Ryan Gosling, to win festival votes beginning with its Venice bow."

Writing for Variety, Justin Chang is less enamored, calling the film "implausible, toothless and weirdly dated" and saying: "Ho-hum insights into the corruption of American politics are treated like staggering revelations. ... George Clooney's fourth feature as a director observes the inner workings of a Democratic presidential campaign through the eyes of a hotshot press secretary who isn't as smart as he thinks he is; something similar could be said of this intriguing but overly portentous drama, which seems far more taken with its own cynicism than most viewers will be."

Dave Calhoun at Time Out says the film is "solid enough as a minor moral tale about politics -- but its teeth are not as sharp as its ponderous title, overplayed final scene of co-star Ryan Gosling staring into a television camera or more flat noir-ish elements would all like to suggest. However, taken as a diverting aside on our world and with its more awkward pretensions forgiven, it’s captivating enough and well-performed."

Meanwhile, over at London's Guardian newspaper, they're already reporting the odds for which film is likely to take home the top prize at Venice, the Golden Lion. According the the Guardian, bookmaker Paddy Power says David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" -- which looks at the friendship between renowned psychotherapists Sigmund Freud (played by Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (played by Michael Fassbender) -- is the 5-1 favorite to go home with the Lion.

And in case you're curious, betting is already on in Britain for February's Oscar race. "War Horse" from Steven Spielberg has 5-2 best picture odds, while the silent film "The Artist" and Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar" coming in at 4-1. Bettors seem to like Oprah Winfrey's chances at being host too.[quote]

By John Horn, Los Angeles TimesSeptember 4, 2011George Clooney and Grant Heslov were all ready to make "The Ides of March" — and then Barack Obama was elected.

The actor-director and his longtime producing partner had adapted Beau Willimon's play "Farragut North," a story of backroom betrayals during a critical moment in a fictional presidential race, significantly ratcheting up the play's realpolitik. Willimon's unsentimental drama, under Clooney and Heslov's revisions, became a somber, provocative thriller. "Grant and I were sitting at lunch, saying, 'We need to do this, we need to do that,'" before shooting started, Clooney said. But Obama had just become the nation's first African American president. "And then we said: 'Wait a minute. We can't make this movie. Everybody is too happy. Everybody feels too good. This movie is too cynical.'"

Such glad tidings didn't last long, particularly in Washington. As soon as the healthcare debate and the midterm elections polarized government and the nation once again, the filmmakers recognized that it was time to revive "Ides of March," which hits theaters Oct. 7.

Clooney, who also directed, plays Gov. Mike Morris, a hard-core liberal's dream candidate. He's unapologetically and unequivocally progressive: for gay marriage, against the death penalty and wants to do away with internal combustion car engines. But before he can take the White House, he first must take the tight Ohio primary. Morris' campaign is run by Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), with Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) Zara's most talented — and unreservedly idealistic — aide. "Nothing bad happens," Myers remarks at one point, "when you're doing the right thing." Two seemingly innocent Myers encounters — between him and a campaign intern (Evan Rachel Wood) and an advisor to Morris' rival — sets off a chain reaction that threatens to take down the candidate.

"We were interested in writing about a character who makes a profound change — and not necessarily for the better," Heslov said of Myers, this fall's second standout performance for Gosling (who's also the lead in Sept. 16's gothic crime story "Drive"). "We also wanted to tell a great story that had thriller elements, without it being a classic thriller."

Clooney said some of Morris' positions are drawn from decades-old columns written by his father, Nick Clooney, a veteran journalist who ran (and lost) as a Kentucky Democrat for Congress in 2004. "We wanted the Morris speeches to really say something," Clooney said. "They had to be believable enough that they would excite the base." Nick Clooney wasn't simply an oratorical inspiration for "Ides of March"; his actor son also incorporated what he saw his father endure. "He ran a clean campaign," Clooney said, "and got beaten down like a baby seal."

Yet "Ides of March" doesn't dwell on negative campaign tactics. Instead, it is interested in exploring loyalty and compromise — how the most impassioned true believers, driven to win, can abandon the very principles that once anchored their lives. "We wanted this to be a story about a man who goes from being great at his job to being the best at his job," Clooney said. "And the only thing it costs him is his soul."

Brian Oliver, whose Cross Creek Pictures ("Black Swan") co-financed "Ides of March" after Warner Bros. passed on making it, believes the movie's themes are hardly limited to the C-Span crowd. "The whole thing could have happened at a law firm or anywhere else," Oliver said. "Which is why I think it will have a bigger audience than a straight political film."

Clooney, conceding that audiences might not find the movie "necessarily optimistic," said "Ides of March" is intended to be provocative, not preachy. "We didn't want to send a message. We wanted to leave things ambiguous," he said. "We wanted people to say at the end of the movie, 'So what do you think happens next?' "

I wish the reviews had been more positive. I really think he put a lot of himself into this. Today's mass movie audience is into special effects and gimmicks. This may be a film that appeals to a mature audience and unless the reviews are glowing - well I hope for the best.

Best Bet!: The Ides of March Even before it was announced as the opening-night feature at the Venice Film Festival, this political thriller was an eye-catching entry on the fall movie calendar. George Clooney writes, directs and stars in a story about a naïve presidential candidate and his press secretary -- played by the bankable Ryan Gosling -- who find out the hard way just how dirty politics can be. Based on the play by Beau Willimon. Why I'm excited: By my count, the biggest names in this cast account for a total of three Oscars in 13 nominations. That's some serious firepower. Cast: Clooney, Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Director: Clooney. Studio: Columbia Pictures.

Thanks one more time Incredible Lady Laetval [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.](and all others) who posted such amazing sets of pictures here Thanks also to Katie for setting up the canvas... Truly Glorious!

But she also called it "classy and professional throughout," praising photography director Phedon Papamichael, who "works the cold, washed-out grays of Cincinnati into a quietly intense atmosphere piece."

Other review samplings:

Oliver Lyttelton, The Playlist: A political campaign has "rarely been depicted better," thanks to a director (Clooney) who "has a real eye for the detail of the thing" and Papamichael "who gives a real chill to the Midwestern landscapes." Lyttelton, who "had a blast" watching it, called Evan Rachel Wood's scenes with Gosling "electric, although at this point we suspect Gosling would have chemistry with a plank of wood."

Derek Malcolm, London Evening Standard: "There are wheels within wheels in this intelligently written tale of political chicanery which vies with Clooney's 'Good Night, And Good Luck' as the kind of relevant film Hollywood should make but seldom does these days. "To direct, write and act in such a film proves Clooney to be a good deal more than the Clark Gable of his generation."

Justin Chang, Variety: It's an "intriguing but overly portentous drama" because screenwriters Clooney and Grant Heslov "have attempted to make the text feel more specific and contemporary, but instead have inflated it into something implausible, toothless and weirdly dated."

Xan Brooks, The Guardian: "It rolls towards the finish line with a well-oiled, stage-managed precision... (It) is tense and involving."

Guy Lodge, In Contention: "There's an intelligence to the way the film lets ... characters fade into the Cincinnati spring mist - so much in politics, one senses, ends with a whimper rather than a bang - but Clooney is still a little too light with the friction."

Sept. 6, 2011The Los Angeles Times reports on George Clooney's new movie, Ides of March. The movie is a political thriller about Mike Morris, a fictional, ultra-liberal, presidential candidate. Clooney said some of the candidate's positions are drawn from decades-old columns written by his father, Nick Clooney, a veteran journalist who ran (and lost) as a Kentucky Democrat for Congress in 2004. "We wanted the Morris speeches to really say something," Clooney told the Times. "They had to be believable enough that they would excite the base." Nick Clooney wasn't simply an oratorical inspiration for Ides of March; his actor son also incorporated what he saw his father endure. "He ran a clean campaign," Clooney said, "and got beaten down like a baby seal."

Can't wait to see this, sounds like a movie I'll enjoy. I'd love to attend some film festivals and see this kind of movies "live", with the crew and everything, must be really exciting... did anybody here did ?

This seems like a really good movie. I think so many people will relate to campaigning and want to get an idea of how things are behind the scenes.

We see Rick Perry and others vying for the leader of the free world position and things in the press get more heated as election day gets nearer. This movie may give people an inside look at what may be going on with the real Presidential campaign.

The only sad thing about the “real thing” is… both parties continue to divide the nation on all types of issues. I think it’s a dangerous thing and if it continues to happen, our country as we know it will not be the same for our children. I want my children to grow up like I did. Free to roam in a free country with rights that I had. A country divided…

" Justin Chang, Variety: It's an "intriguing but overly portentous drama" because screenwriters Clooney and Grant Heslov "have attempted to make the text feel more specific and contemporary, but instead have inflated it into something implausible, toothless and weirdly dated." "

Any time a politically-oriented flm is made the people involved in the making of are open to lots of criticism. G took a chance in making Syriana and GNGL, those films were criticized I'm sure but had a nice following.

Atalante wrote:" Justin Chang, Variety: It's an "intriguing but overly portentous drama" because screenwriters Clooney and Grant Heslov "have attempted to make the text feel more specific and contemporary, but instead have inflated it into something implausible, toothless and weirdly dated." "

That's what I thought by just seeing the trailer.

Heslov and Clooney sure need to shape up !

I haven’t seen it yet but I have seen the reviews and trailers. I think I remember a question and answer done with George where he explains how they rewrote the script. If I remember right, and correct me if I’m wrong, they didn’t want to point a finger at any certain politician or country thereby using the majority to emphasize the corruption involved in all aspects surrounding power and those who try to achieve good. Mind you this explanation is in my own words because I cannot locate the exact article that speaks of it. So I don’t quite understand this guy’s point of view.

[quote][I haven’t seen it yet but I have seen the reviews and trailers. I think I remember a question and answer done with George where he explains how they rewrote the script. If I remember right, and correct me if I’m wrong, they didn’t want to point a finger at any certain politician or country thereby using the majority to emphasize the corruption involved in all aspects surrounding power and those who try to achieve good. Mind you this explanation is in my own words because I cannot locate the exact article that speaks of it. So I don’t quite understand this guy’s point of view/quote]

I remember reading the same article. Lets face it, Chang, is just another rag writer. George may have rubbed him the wrong way or something. Again, not sure which one of us said it, but a review is just one person's opinion, and opinions are often colored by personal likes or dislikes, not honest assessments.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]From left, director Grant Heslov, actresses Evan Rachel Wood, and Marisa Tomei, actors Paul Giamatti, and Philip Hoffman pose with actor director George Clooney as they arrive for the press conference of their movie The Ides of March at the 68th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011. JOEL RYAN — AP Photo

Sept. 6, 2011

The Los Angeles Times reports on George Clooney's new movie, Ides of March. The movie is a political thriller about Mike Morris, a fictional, ultra-liberal, presidential candidate. Clooney said some of the candidate's positions are drawn from decades-old columns written by his father, Nick Clooney, a veteran journalist who ran (and lost) as a Kentucky Democrat for Congress in 2004. "We wanted the Morris speeches to really say something," Clooney told the Times. "They had to be believable enough that they would excite the base." Nick Clooney wasn't simply an oratorical inspiration for Ides of March; his actor son also incorporated what he saw his father endure. "He ran a clean campaign," Clooney said, "and got beaten down like a baby seal."

Interesting re-name of the film in the first paragraph by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

A film festival sword thrust

Published On Tue Sep 6 2011

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Philip Seymour Hoffman and George Clooney in his new film The Ides of March.

Martin Knelman - entertainment columnist

Every self-respecting film festival on the planet wants a piece of George Clooney and there should be enough to go around and keep them all happy. But Clooney himself is befuddled by the fact that over the weekend the small, insider Telluride festival was denied the privilege of screening The Ideas of March.

Does this reveal a tug of war between film festivals? And does Toronto deserve to be cast in the role of the villain?

With as many credits on any Hollywood movie as anyone since Orson Welles made Citizen Kane, Clooney is the director, producer, screen writer and co-star (playing the role of a prospective Democratic candidate for U.S. president).

Ides had its world premiere on opening night at the Venice Film Festival last week, and will get its North American premiere on Friday as a gala at the Toronto International Film Festival.

But as Clooney explained to my friend Anne Thompson, (which she reported in her online IndieWire column Thompson on Hollywood), George himself was clearly counting on having Ides screened at Telluride.

Even more startling is the suggestion that it was to protect the Toronto International Film Festival that Sony Picture Releasing refused to allow Telluride to screen the movie.

Instead, Telluride showed another new movie starring George Clooney. It’s The Descendants, which is also in the TIFF lineup.

But Telluride was doing a special tribute to Clooney, and he wanted Ides to be part of it. Indeed, assuming it would be, he decided to include a scene from late in Ides to be edited into a clips reel being shown at the tribute.

There should definitely have been a spoiler alert. But Clooney didn’t worry about that, because he thought by then the audience would already have seen Ides.

Alas, Clooney was evidently not on the same wave length as Sony Pictures Releasing, without whose approval Telluride could not nab Ides.

As Thompson tells the tale, it was “in deference to Toronto” that Sony said no.

Hmm. That sounds odd, because year after year, many TIFF selections are shown a few days earlier at Telluride (which takes place over the Labour Day weekend). And no one in Toronto seems to mind, because, after all, Telluride is a clubby, elitist event rather than a major international festival — more of a sneak peak for industry insiders. Unlike Venice, it is not considered a rival for TIFF, and is usually ignored.

Clearly TIFF officials do not want to be caught in the middle of the crossfire. I asked Jennifer Bell, TIFF’s vice-president, communications for a comment from CEO Piers Handling and festival co-director Cameron Bailey.

Here is all Handling and Bailey are prepared to say about the Ides tug of war: “Our primary goal is to ensure we support what’s best for the film in terms of its launch and release.”

I could be accused of reading, or misreading, between the lines, but here is my guess. Sony had its own strategy for rolling out the film, and with all due respect to George Clooney, that did not include Telluride. I would take the “deference to Toronto” line as a smokescreen.

And I interpret the official response from Handling and Bailey to mean: “There’s no way we want to get caught in the crossfire. When threatened with controversy, our policy is always to wear a helmet — and duck.”

Interesting, Katie, very interesting! Wonder what's behind it all? You'd think Sony would grab at any opportunity to showcase their project. The more "insiders" that get to view it, the more good reports are put out there. Telluide may be "clubby" but movies shown there do make it the Academy Awards, i.e. The King's Speech last year.

TORONTO — “It’s probably not our best moment in politics,” offered George Clooney, who was on a stage at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday being asked about the message of his movie, “The Ides of March.” The film’s take on American democracy left some viewers here feeling stunned, if not disillusioned.

But Mr. Clooney, a festival veteran, took their dismay in stride. Films, he said, don’t lead the political culture, they follow. If “The Ides of March” reflects a mood of cynicism, it is probably “a good thing” to get it out in the open, he argued.

In a white golf shirt and flashing his trademark smile, Mr. Clooney looked chipper, though he was dealing with the demands of his third major film festival, with two pictures, in less than two weeks. “The Ides of March” — for which Mr. Clooney had credits as a writer, director, producer and star — had its festival debut in Venice just 10 days ago. “The Descendants,” a family drama directed by Alexander Payne, with Mr. Clooney in a lead role, screened last weekend at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, and is set for a public showing here on Saturday evening.

Mr. Clooney and his team have avoided identifying the flawed operatives in “The Ides of March” with any real persons, living or dead. His own character, Gov. Mike Morris, an idealist, charmer and presidential candidate, has more than a few points of contact with former Senator John Edwards, though Mr. Clooney on Friday played down the similarities.

“This was written long before the John Edwards thing broke,” Mr. Clooney said of the persistent comparisons being made between Mr. Edwards, who was caught in a scandal over infidelity and the misuse of campaign funds, and the Morris character.

As for the Morris handlers — Stephen Myers, played by Ryan Gosling, and Paul Zara, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman — it is impossible not to find traces of the political strategist Jay Carson. A former campaign press secretary and adviser, Mr. Carson is now chief executive of the C40 Clinton Climate Initiative, which combines programs started by New York’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, and former President Bill Clinton.

While on the campaign trail with Howard Dean and others, Mr. Carson was joined by Beau Willimon, as a staff associate. Mr. Willimon later wrote a play on which “The Ides of March” is based, with substantial changes by Mr. Clooney, Mr. Willimon and the other writer, Grant Heslov.

“Beau, George and Grant really get it,” said Mr. Carson, who spoke by telephone last week from New York after returning from the film’s premiere in Venice. Mr. Carson is not formally associated with the movie, but his experiences and persona figure in it, and he has remained in touch with Mr. Willimon.

The impulse behind the play and movie alike, Mr. Carson said, was not to present a narrative with clinical accuracy. Rather, it was to show what might happen if political players who are constantly facing “ends versus means” choices went too far. Devilish bargains range from a routine compromise on selecting a vice presidential candidate to the kind of sublimely evil deal that conceals some seamy truths about a candidate in order to advance a gleaming agenda.

One of the film’s core conflicts, Mr. Carson acknowledged, matches a moment in his own life, when he was the press secretary to Senator Tom Daschle, Democrat of South Dakota, and declined a position with Hillary Rodham Clinton, then the hottest ticket in Democratic politics.

“They had taken a chance on me at a very young age,” Mr. Carson said of the Daschle camp, echoing a speech delivered by Mr. Hoffman’s character as the plot, with its portrayal of tribal warfare among Democratic politicians, spirals into the “Godfather” zone of loyalty to the family. (Mr. Carson did eventually go to work for Senator Clinton, when she was a candidate in the 2008 presidential race.)

According to Mr. Clooney, who spoke about the project in a phone interview from Telluride, “The Ides of March” was rooted in his own ruminations after having watched his father, the journalist and television host Nick Clooney, lose his race in 2004 as the Democratic candidate for a Congressional seat in Kentucky.

“It left a bad taste in his mouth,” Mr. Clooney said, adding that his father may have hurt his campaign by taking a high road when a lower path was offered. Mr. Clooney said he found himself wondering, “Would I have made the easier choices and gotten a lot farther ahead?”

As he and Mr. Heslov, a longtime collaborator, were pondering whether to use these themes for a “morality play” film set on Wall Street or in the banking world, they became intrigued with Mr. Willimon’s two-act drama, which had its New York premiere in November 2008. Their involvement with the project evolved from a complicated development process that at one point involved Warner Brothers, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who has one of about 15 producer credits on the movie.

In its film version “The Ides of March” is a thriller that unfolds during an Ohio presidential primary. All the principal characters are Democrats, most of them as progressive as Mr. Clooney himself. But there are no heroes, lending shock value to a movie that finds Faustian bargains behind what voters might see as triumphant ideals.

“We don’t supply any answers; we leave it up to people to decide,” Mr. Clooney said of the movie’s message, if indeed it has one.

He said that viewers had been split in their reactions, though most had found some part of the film they relate to. Some women, he said, have focused on a subplot that involves abortion, with some reading it as an anti-abortion statement, others seeing it as in favor of abortion rights.

Some political professionals, like Mr. Carson, have been struck by the authenticity of the film’s portrayal of backroom politics. But others, particularly Democrats, Mr. Clooney said, were “really, really” bothered by its harsh view of the electoral process.

As for Barack Obama, he said, the president asked Mr. Clooney whether “The Ides of March” should be shown at the White House.

Besides naming the Russian film "Faust" as the winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, the jury headed by director Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan") handed out numerous other prizes. The Coppa Volpi for best actor went to Michael Fassbender, who plays a man obsessed with impersonal gratification in the film "Shame" by Steve McQueen of Britain.

Asia put in a strong showing. The Coppa Volpi for best actress was awarded to Deanie Yip in the film "Tao Jie" ("A Simple Life") by Hong Kong's Ann Hui. China's Cai Shangjun won the Silver Lion for best director for his film "Ren Shan Ren Hai" (People Mountain People Sea), which was a surprise late addition to the festival lineup. And the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best new young actor or actress went to Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaido in the film "Himizu" by Japan's Sion Sono.

A special jury prize was give to "Terraferma" by Emanuele Crialese of Italy, while the Osella for the best cinematography went to Robbie Ryan for the film "Wuthering Heights" by Andrea Arnold and the Osella for best screenplay went to Greece's Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou for the film "Alpis" (Alps).

The handful of American films in competition, including George Clooney's "The Ides of March," "Dark Horse," "Texas Killing Fields" and "Killer Joe" were shut out.

The Ides of March is coming, and I’m sure we’re all happy because of that. After all, it’s always nice to watch a political drama (we hope a good one), especially when you know that George Clooney is in it, and by the way – behind the camera as well. Am I right or…right?

We all know this movie will hit the theaters on October 7th, which is less than a month, so it’s quite logical that we have 4 new clips for the whole thing.

The official synopsis part is not so interesting. It goes like this: “During the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, an up-and-coming campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate’s shot at the presidency.”

But, if you’re in the mood for some political talk, which means – shitty dialogues with no sense, a lot of tension, a little bit of irony, or even better – a little bit of Ryan Gosling – then I’m sure you came to the right place.

Clooney, Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood and Jeffrey Wright are all in The Ides of March, and that’s enough for us to even talk about the whole thing.

Evan Rachel Wood in Marie Claire (added just the George bits. Link to full article at the bottom). Loving 'Enjoy the DVD' comment.

George Clooney the actor or George Clooney the director — which do you prefer? He’s amazing as both. Quite honestly, I wish every movie I worked on was a George Clooney movie — him directing, that is. It was a stupid amount of fun.

How so? He just surrounds himself with really great, smart, laid-back funny people with good energy. He loved to keep the camera rolling when we didn’t know it was on. I’m pretty sure he has me dancing to Justin Bieber on film. We were playing around and joking with Ryan [Gosling] off-camera and started doing this dance. It got really quiet, then George poked his head around the corner and said, “Enjoy the DVD!”

Your character is very sexually forward for an intern. I swear to God I was channeling George a little bit in those moments. He has a very calm, quiet, direct way about him, and I think that’s what he wanted for the character. Just very in control.